“Five Till Places!”

Holy Cow! This whole week I have been overwhelmed with every thing that is going to happen this weekend. FYI this weekend is tech. That basically means that the cast and crew are going to spent countless long hours putting the show together. Now since I am just a first-year, I have only had to be at one other tech weekend. That was for Into the Woods. I am hopefully assuming that this tech will not be quite as stressfully. We do not have to add in an orchestra, that was a very big part of Into the Woods. There, again, I could be wrong. This tech weekend might be just as long and just as stressful. As an actor, we are going to be in the theater for thirteen hours. I do not envy the tech crew. They are called half an hour early then the actors. That is the main reason I would not be part of the tech crew, I would go insane with the amount of time that goes into each show.

I am not going to deny the fact that I am super excited. Sure I am also really stressed but that comes with the job. I am looking forward to adding in the costumes and most of the props. I have to say that costumes are my favorite part of a show. When I am dressed as the character, I feel complete. It is just the last added layer that helps enhance the show itself. Props are another aspect of the show that help bring in the magic. Yes, an actor can mime the props and pretend that they are really reading a paper. After awhile we have to actually give the actor a newspaper. And guess what, just by having the right props the show suddenly becomes even more real to the audience. Back to the costumes. I love them, especially period ones. There is something about having to completely rethink all of your normal movements in order to appear as if you have always lived in those clothes. Don’t get me wrong they can sometimes be uncomfortable to wear and a pain in the a** to work in, but because we love being on stage so much, we learn to suck it up.

The show is beginning to feel more and more like the real thing, tension is raising and time is running out. Each rehearsal is being run more like the performance would be run. I can feel the change of mood when the stage-manger calls places. The show is going up in under a week and I can hardly wait…